Ezekiel 3:17-19 - Son
of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the
word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked,
Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the
wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked [man] shall die in
his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the
wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall
die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Ezekiel 28:6-10 -
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the
heart of God; Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible
of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy
wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the
pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of [them that are] slain in the midst of the
seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I [am] God? but thou [shalt
be] a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the
deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken [it],
saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 43:1-4-
Afterward he brought me to the gate, [even] the gate that looketh toward the
east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east:
and his voice [was] like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his
glory. And [it was] according to the appearance of the vision which I saw,
[even] according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and
the visions [were] like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell
upon my face. And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the
gate whose prospect [is] toward the east.

The Old Testament - A Brief Overview

Bible Survey - Ezekiel
Hebrew Name - Yehezqel "God is strength"
Greek Name - Iezekiel (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Ezekiel (According to Tradition)
Date - 595 BC Approximately
Theme - The final restoration of Israel
Types and Shadows - In Ezekiel Jesus is the son of man

Ezekiel prophesied to the the Jewish
captives in Babylon. The Babylonians had invaded Judah three times and each time
they took prisoners back to Babylon. The first invasion was in 607 BC and Daniel
was taken as a captive to Babylon. The second invasion was in 597 BC and Ezekiel
was taken as a captive to Babylon, and in 586 BC Jerusalem was destroyed and all
the survivors were taken as captives to Babylon. Ezekiel was married to a
beautiful woman who was "the desire of his eyes" and God told him but his
beloved wife was going to die on the very same day that Jerusalem was to be
destroyed. As a sign to the Jews is a cure was commanded not to mourn his wife's
death. He was to prepare himself as God had prepared himself for the death of
his beloved city (Ezekiel 24:15-22). God spoke many prophecies through Ezekiel
using words, parables, visions, and similitudes (strange things to point to
something greater). Ezekiel also prophesied about the false shepherds in
Jerusalem and God said that he will be the true Shepherd Messiah and there will
be a future outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a re-gathering of Israel in the
land. Ezekiel also predicted the downfall of those nations that were hostile to
Judah. Ezekiel 16 is probably the most remarkable chapter concerning the love of
God for his people in spite of their continuing idolatry.

"Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for
it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you," says the Lord
GOD. "But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your
fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it."
Ezekiel 16:14-15

The prophet Ezekiel taken captive during the time when the Babylonians began
their captivity of Judah during the time of the reign of king Jehoichin, which
was about 11 years before Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem. Ezekiel was one of
the Jewish captives who was brought to the land of Babylon and settled on the
banks of the river Chebar. While he was by this river and the "land of the
Chaldeans" he had a prophetic vision and received his call to be a prophet to
the people in exile. This all happened in the fourth month of the "fifth year of
king Jehoiachin's captivity" (595 BC). There is one interesting note that
Ezekiel makes when he mentions that he married a woman in the land of Babylon
and had a house, and that he lost his wife on the very day that the Babylonian
siege of Jerusalem took place. Something else that is interesting is that the
prophecies of Ezekiel address the Jews in Jerusalem and the events taking place
over there, as though he was in Jerusalem, but he was actually in Babylon.

According to Jewish tradition Ezekiel was murdered in Babylon by a Jewish
prince whom Ezekiel accused of idolatry, Ezekiel was supposedly buried on the
banks of the Euphrates River.

The major divisions within the book of Ezekiel reveal the purpose of this
ministry. In the first half of the book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1-33) Judah is
accused of breaking all of God's commandments, and they are warned by God that
they will be destroyed if they persist in their sins. After Ezekiel's
announcement of Jerusalem's destruction the book of Ezekiel focuses on an
entirely different subject, which is one of comfort and encouragement to the
heartbroken Jews.

The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows :

Outline of the Book of Ezekiel

I. Israel's sin and impending judgment, uttered before the final captivity (Ezekiel
1-24).

1) Biographical information concerning Ezekiel, including a note as to his
personal situation and a description of his call to the prophetic ministry (Ezekiel 1-3
).
2 ) The siege of Jerusalem portrayed in four symbolical acts (Ezekiel 4-7 ). In the
first of these, Ezekiel evidently drew a picture of a city under siege,
indicating that this was soon to be the condition of Jerusalem. After this,
Ezekiel lay on his side for a great number of days, announcing that the nation
was to be punished for its sins. By eating an inferior type of food which had
been cooked on animal dung, Ezekiel predicted the famine which would accompany
the siege. In the final act, Ezekiel shaved his head, burning his hair, striking
it with a sword and scattering it to the winds, indicating the fate of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem. Ezekiel 6 and 7 contain additional oracles concerning
Israel's sin and imminent doom.
3 ) Visions of idolatry in Jerusalem and the resultant judgment and destruction
of that city (Ezekiel 8-11).
4 ) Further prophecies against Jerusalem (Ezekiel 12-24). This section contains a rebuke
of false prophets and hypocrites (Ezekiel 12-14), a repeated emphasis on the certainty
and necessity of punishment (Ezekiel 15-17), a discussion of retribution and
responsibility and a reassertion of God's love toward sinners (Ezekiel 18), a
lamentation or dirge over the rulers of Judah (Ezekiel 19) and final warnings before
the complete destruction of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 20-24).

III. Prophecies concerning the restoration of Israel, uttered after the
destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.

1 ) A discussion of the responsibility of the people to respond to the call
of the prophet (Ezekiel 33: 1-20).
2 ) The announcement of the fall of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 33:21-33).
3 ) A contrast between the leadership of the faithless shepherds ( kings) of
Judah and Israel and the true shepherd who was to come (Ezekiel 34).
4 ) The doom of Edom (Ezekiel 35).
5 ) The vision of the valley of dry bones, symbolizing the resurrection of the
remnant of Israel (Ezekiel 36-37).
6 ) The prophecy of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38-39 ).
7 ) The rebuilt Temple (Ezekiel 40-48).